Passing Seasons
by Catalina731
Summary: Kicking out her shoes, she decides that she hates high heels. And rain. And Mondays. And incapable ministry fools. And mushrooms. Yes, she hates mushrooms. She will never like those damn things. "I knew you would go insane someday" a familiar voice drawls from the doorway. She almost throws her empty coffee cup at him. It's empty. Why is it empty? A Draco-Hermione fic.


Summer

"Rise and shine, sleepy head" a voice drawls.

"Go away, Malfoy" she mutters and turns around.

Malfoy?

Wait a minute..

"What are _you _doing- ah!" because she just bumped her head against the wall shooting upright so quickly.

And no one is there.

"Oh, damn," she mutters.. "oh, damn it! Now I am even dreaming about you! Leave me alone!"

Groaning she turns towards the alarm clock. Four in the morning! She hits her pillow over her head, muffling a curse.

There's no way she'll be able to sleep now..

And there's no way he will leave her alone with the way her hair is going to look later..

Sigh

XXX

"Well, hello, Granger. Looking good today I must say"

She looks at the clock: ten in the morning. Hmm so he let her be some time.

"Go away, Malfoy" she mutters without sparing him even a single look.

She knows what she's going to see: him, leaning against her Mahoney door frame, with his feet crossed, his elbow propping him up, his hair _perfectly _modelled and that handsome smirk on his face.

As is their tradition, he ignores her statement, heads up to the comfy, brown, leather sofa in her office and plops down on it, with his feet dangling off the end.

She sighs, barely looking up from her desk and continues working, while he lays on the sofa.

Don't look, Hermione, don't look, don't look.

She looks.

"I knew you couldn't resist temptation" he teases, with that smile on his face again.

She rolls her eyes at him.

He keeps smiling at her.

"What?" she snaps eventually. Annoyed.

"Remember the coffee lady, what-was-her-name-again, something like Melissa-"

"Marissa. What about her?"

"Well," he sighs dramatically, staring at the white ceiling, with his arms propped up under his head, "her successor, Amy, is a really nice girl"

"Malfoy.."

"And quite good at making coffee.. and other.. _stuff_" he says suggestively.

"Malfoy, what did you _do_?" she asks shocked, though she already knows the answer.

"Oh, nothing. Let's just say I invited her on a date, and she said yes, and well.. the usual"

Her heart stops beating, but just for a second. It's already used to this routine.

"Oh, well I am happy for you" she mumbles and looks down at her paperwork again.

"Come on!", he exclaims, "could that be said with any _more _enthusiasm?"

"Let's see how long it lasts, shall we? And then, I'll be enthusiastic. Now, I have work to do. So if you'll excuse me?"

She does not look up again and misses the small frown on his face as he leaves.

She also does not notice the door closing a little louder than necessary.

XXX

The sound of the floo interrupts her. Looking at the clock, she yawns. Only eleven in the morning and still it feels as she has been working on this case forever.. with no progress whatsoever.

"Hermione," the red torment that enters her house makes little disaproving tongue sounds, "do not tell me you forgot which date it is today"

"Uhm," Hermione sneaks a quick glance at the cute wooden flower calendar she has on her desk, "the eleventh of august?"

"Yes" Ginny says slowly, deliberately as if waiting for her to catch on, "which is..?"

"Which is.." come on Hermione, think, 11 August, Ginny, today is.. "Oh God, Ginny, I am so sorry!" She springs from her seat and goes to embrace the redhead, "I totally forgot! Happy birthday! I got you a present, I swear, It's just here somewhere.."

She lets Ginny go and runs out of her office, to her bedroom next to it. There she dives into her wardrobe and starts opening the drawers madly, chucking out her shoes.

Ugly, never liked it anyway, ew, too high, can't walk _on that_, aha! There it is!

"Here it is!" she emerges triumphantly, holds it out to Ginny, who is now leaning against her bedroom wall, and moves it quickly behind her back when she catches a glimpse of it.

"Uhm, I haven't packed it yet" she says lamely.

Ginny laughs.

"No worries, Hermione. You can give it to me this evening"

"This evening?"

Ginny gives Hermione a look.

"Yees," she says slowly, " you know.. on my birthday party at the burrow?"

"Oh Merlin, I-yes of course, I'm sorry it's just- I've been so busy lately with, you know.. everything"

Hermione makes a vague hand gesture in the direction of her office.

"Oh Hermione please tell me you are over him"

"Over.." it takes her a second, and when it hits her she starts laughing and puts away the present before plopping down on the bed, "Oh, of course! It has been ages ago! Yes sure I am over your brother. He's happy, I am happy, everyone is happy. No it's just this case I've been working on"

"What case?" Ginny asks interestedly, sitting down on the chair next to the window facing her bed.

Hermione hesitates before deciding it really doesn't matter if people know.

"Remember Stan Shunpike? Well apparently some people at the Ministry of Idiots, uh, I mean of Magic still believe in all that crap about him being a Death Eater"

"Bloody idiots," Ginny mumbles, "are they still going on about that? It's been like, seven years ago!"

"I know," Hermione sighs. She then fixes Ginny with a steady stare, "wait, how old are you again? Thirty?"

"Ha-ha," Ginny rolls her eyes, "twenty-four as from today, and are you not way older than me, missy?"

Hermione looks away consciously.

"Oh come on Hermione!", Ginny laughs, "twenty-five is really not that old"

"No, I guess not"

Ginny chuckles again and stands up from the chair.

"Come on, let's go!" she says excitedly.

"Let's go? Where to?"

"It's _my _birthday! Anywhere I want to go" she comes round to the bed, and starts pulling Hermione off it.

"Ginny.." Hermione says hesitantly.

"Oh, _come on Hermione!_", Ginny whines, "One day off not working isn't going to kill you. It's Saturday for Merlin's sake."

Hermione looks at Ginny's pleading expression and smiles indulgently: "Fine let's go"

"Yay!" Ginny squeals, jumping up and down.

Hermione cocks her head at Ginny.

Ginny grins: "I have one more year before I have to turn all serious and _twenty-five_, start working, become dull, forget my best friends birthdays..."

"Hey! I already agreed with going with you!"

"Okay, come on! We're going to be late"

"Late for what?" Hermione asked, turned on by Ginny's excitement.

"Yes! We're going to meet Luna for a shopping day. Now come on" Ginny rushes out of the bedroom, her heels clicking all the way to the sitting room and the chimney.

Hermione smiles and follows quickly.

XXX

"Finally. It's too hot for shopping" Ginny pants as she sets down all her shopping bags (around fifty) and sits down at a table, wiping her forehead.

Hermione follows quickly but Luna looks hesitant.

"Sit down, Luna. Trust me, the nargles are not going to bother you" Hermione says seriously, which earns her a swift kick from Ginny.

"Aw" she mouths at the redhead.

"Don't be silly Hermione. Nargles don't exists" Luna says serenely, before sitting down, her eyes still lost in space.

Hermione's eyebrows rise comically as she stares at Luna and then turns her questioning gaze to Ginny. Ginny shrugs and signals the waiter. A young man who took over the business after the war. He didn't change the name out of respect and remembrance for Florean, the former owner, who had been killed by Death Eaters.

"Here's the card. Let me know when you find anything" the waiter winks at them, hands them the menu and leaves quickly to usher a couple in.

"However, floppie-fappies do exist and I'm worried they'll infiltrate your head before I can tell you my news"

"What do they do?" Ginny asks, while Hermione hides behind her menu.

She likes Luna, she really does. It's just that they still tend to disagree on the existence of some creatures from time to time. Hermione has learned to not say anything about it.

Okay, that's a lie.

She tries very hard not to say anything about it, but sometimes it still slips away. So, she tries to zone out but Luna's voice is impossible to ignore.

"Oh, they flutter around in your head when people are going to tell something important and make you forget what they said and.."

Ginny has obviously picked up something Hermione hasn't because she narrows her eyes at Luna.

"Luna, what are you not telling us?"

Luna looks around awkwardly and suddenly exclaims: "Look, nargles!"

"Nargles only hide in mistletoe" Hermione supplies, remembering that fact from one of the few occasions she paid attention to the blonde. Luna shoots her a glare.

"Luna.." When Ginny wants to know something she's like a piranha who does not lets go.

"I'vgotaboyfrindwhosrllysweetndeverythingandIlvehimverymuch"

"Uhm," Ginny looks confused.

"I've got a boyfriend -"

"Ooh! Who, who?"

"You don't know him" Luna tries.

"Luna, I know everyone! Now, tell me"

"Rolf Scamander" Luna mumbles

"Who?" Hermione asks, but Ginny cuts her off.

"Oh, the grandson of Newt Scamander, no? He works in Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology somewhere in South-America"

She then gives them a look as if to say, _see _I do know everyone.

That moment the waiter come back and they place their orders.

"So, how did you meet, where did you meet, when? What was your first date, ooh, when did he kiss you?"

Poor Luna hasn't a chance to answer all those questions.

As they are brought their ice cream and Hermione digs into her cherry sorbet, Ginny turns to Luna with a wicked gleam in her eyes and some nuts on her nose.

"Tell me everything she demands" and Luna almost chokes in her orange-strawberry-raspberry-mango-lime ice, topped with coffee cream, chocolate and peanuts, with little butter blocks and apple on the sides, and Hermione notes amusedly that they forgot the lemon drops Luna asked for. The waiter seemed very frazzled when he had to write all that down.

Luna looks helpless and Hermione shakes her head almost unnoticeably, signalling the blonde that there is nothing to do but bear it through.

Ginny begins her inquisition, and Luna answers patiently, while her ice-cream melts under the basking sun and she has no time to eat it because Ginny doesn't gives her one break.

Hermione savours her ice, shaking her head amusedly at the sight before her.

Poor Luna.

XXX

The burrow is the usual busy place, even more so with the many additions to the family. A distressed Molly tries to get everyone to settle down, while boiling potatoes, cutting tomatoes and supervising the sizzling beef all at once.

Needless to say Arthur is nowhere in sight.

Hermione enters with a smile on her face and a (neatly packed) gift, under her arm. That neatly packed gift, however, does not stays neatly packed, as a stray knife skims it in its flight from the kitchen and the tomatoes, waiting to be cut to join the salad on the counter.

Bill and Charlie pursue the knife, throwing hexes at it-hexes that for some very bizarre coincidence, end up hitting the other one instead, making Charlie grow dragon horns, and Bill claws and hairs on each hand.

Yes, very handy spells to catch a knife.

"Hermione dear, welcome- oh, I am so sorry! Mrs Weasley points her wand at the gift, and restores the beautiful white scarf inside. But sadly, the damage to the package is already done.

"Don't worry, Hermione" Ginny enters the kitchen happily, and gives Hermione an air kiss before receiving the gift from her, "I already know what's inside it"

Hermione winks at her.

That moment, various things happen at once: Bill and Charlie, both looking hairy and green, return proudly with a tortured piece of metal that used to be a knife and is still doing weak attempts to fly away, Ron apparates with his new conquest Lauren, right in the middle of the kitchen, and Percy enters with his, very, _very _pregnant wife Audrey, and little Molly in his arms.

Arthur, looking like something exploded in his face-probably the toaster he has been working on in secret-enters the kitchen hastily, trips over a bottle, and starts falling.

Bill and Charlie rush to stop him, letting go of the knife, which decides it's freedom has to be taken before it's tortured more and flies out of the door, passing Audrey a millimetre away from her face, making her shriek and faint. Percy catches her right on time but has to let go of his daughter, who then starts crying.

Hermione rushes to her when-

"EVERYBODY SETTLE DOWN AT ONCE. NOW!"

Molly, with flour in her hair, tomatoes on her skirt and a very red face, has finally lost it.

The Weasley clan is silent. Needless to say, the silence only lasts a second or two, because someone starts laughing madly in the door opening.

"George!" Harry exclaims, who just entered to see what was happening.

George throws a very Weasley-twin smirk over his shoulder and even though it's a little bleak, Hermione smiles because it is not so long ago he wasn't smiling at all.

"Angelina, darling, meet my crazy family and Harry and Hermione and Ron's Latest conquest, who will be gone by next week, so I won't bother learning her name," Angelina smacks George on the head but laughs together with everyone, except for Ron and Lauren, "And the cat." He frowns, "since when do we have a cat?"

The grey cat, suddenly sitting on the window sill, looks indignantly at George and starts licking her paw and rubbing it along her delicate face. Little Molly looks entranced.

"Anyways. Crazy family, and Harry and Hermione and Ron's conquest.. and cat, meet my lovely girlfriend, Angelina. Some of you already know her from Hogwarts"

The cat gives her a glance and continues with what she's doing, deeming Angelina not important enough for attention.

"So that's why you've been acting so secretive lately!" Ginny exclaims.

"Congratulations Fred darling" Molly says distractedly, trying to salvage the potatoes, which have been boiling for quite a long time.

George's face contorts and Molly brings her hands to her face.

"Oh, Georgie I am so sorry-"

But George gives her a wide grin and replies with: "Honestly woman, and you call yourself our mother?"

Everybody laughs, aside from Lauren and little Molly, who is know stroking the cat. The cat is purring happily.

Angelina takes George's hand and smiles reassuringly at him. He smiles back, but still has hurt in his eyes.

Hermione and Harry look at each other and take pity at Mrs. Weasley. While Harry ushers everyone outside, Hermione offers her help. She gladly accepts it.

After dinner is ready and Audrey has finally come by, the Weasleys, and Harry, and Hermione, and Lauren and the cat, enjoy a good dinner on the lovely summer evening.

And just before midnight, Harry picks Ginny up and mutters "Happy Birthday" before carrying her inside and too the floo for her 'present'. While everyone laughs, Hermione sips her wine and strokes the cat on her lap, staring wistfully at them and picturing herself with a certain blond who is currently probably enjoying the summer evening with someone else.

She sighs and then smiles.

XXX

"Mary, hand me that file please"

The girl quickly does as asked. She also knows immediately which file it is that Hermione wants, seeing as the table is so filled with files and papers that not even one square cm of surface can be seen.

Hermione shots her a grateful smile. She has no idea what she would do without her secretary.

"Okay, okay," she quickly mutters to herself, "yes, we already knew that. Covered and.. wait a minute-"

Mary is at her side immediately. Bless her.

"Oh, yes miss Granger. They keep adding more specifics to it. Every time we've covered something, a new thing comes up."

Hermione turns to her and asks quietly; "Ask the files of every one of the new victims Mary. And please don't tell anyone of them."

"Not even Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger?"

She hesitates but finally decides "No. And how many times have I told you to call me Hermione?"

"All right Miss -," Hermione gives her a look and she rectifies quickly, "Hermione"

"Okay everyone, listen up" Hermione says and they all are quiet immediately. She smiles. This has been her team since she first started working and even though one of them could be sabotaging them, as long as she's not sure she'll give them the respect she thinks they deserve, just as they do with her.

So she looks at all the faces (Mary-Claire-Fingan and... Draco). He smirks at her when she finally looks at him and sarcastically gestures for her to continue.

So she starts explaining the new case. And when she finishes she looks at them seriously:

"So we need the usual: witnesses, arrangements with the suspect, files of the opposition lawyers,.. I also would like an expert on the Imperius curse, and Mr. Malfoy wil be working with us again for a while with his auror experience. Stan Shunpike is an innocent man and deserves to be free. Let's make it happen!"

They start packing up and Hermione smiles again at her team, then she looks at her watch.

"If you'll excuse me now, I haven't had my coffee yet. It has been _three hours _since this morning" she adds dramatically.

They all laugh as she leaves.

XXX

"Miss Granger?"

"Hermione" Hermione replies without looking up.

"Uhm, yes. I did what you asked"

"And? What did you find?" Hermione smiles at Mary.

"Well, miss Granger, it is all really strange. I checked all the cases, and they've all disappeared. Sometimes it can be that a file is missing because the ministry is organising, or checking something, but for them to have all gone missing? That's not normal at all. And I checked with others, and it's only our files, well your files, that are conveniently missing"

"And who can access these files?" she asks Mary, raising her eyebrows at her.

"Well, I guess everyone from our department, family members and others, though they have to ask permission and sign their names... oh, unspeakables can too, but only if it has to do with something from their department, and they have to sign too, even if they're not required to give the reason.. and the minister of magic himself off course"

"So, without signing: the aurors, the Wizengamot, everyone from law enforcement and the Minister."

"Well, yes, and secretaries of the Minister too"

"And _former _secretaries too?"

"I think so, Miss Granger"

"Excellent work, Mary" Hermione says, standing up.

"Wait, there's more!" Mary calls when Hermione is already halfway out of her office.

"I took the liberty of checking out Death Eater files too, to match our files and I discovered something strange: we know for sure that Amelia Bones and Alastor Moody were killed by He-who-must-not-be-named, but Diana Abbot was definitely killed by Antonin Dolohov, and we are almost sure that Bellatrix Lestrange had something to do with Emmeline Vance's death and well... those two files are missing too"

"You mean, Bellatrix's and Dolohov's?"

"Yes"

Hermione nods.

"I think we may need to do something else. Thank you, Mary, you really helped me a lot on this"

"Really?" she beams

"Absolutely" Hermione confirms, "now I need to speak with some people. If you excuse me"

"Oh, sure. What should I do in the mean time?"

"What we discussed, Mary. And start with Fingan and Draco. I'll handle-"

"Claire and me"

"Not you Mary," Hermione smiles, "but I'm afraid I have to do Claire"

"Off course, Miss Granger," Mary nods, "shall I contact the Minister for you?"

"You read my mind, Mary"

Mary smiles as Hermione leaves.


End file.
